Once the Storm Passes
by Nukes N Noodles
Summary: Max and Chloe finally have some time to spend with one another. But memories of the past week continue to haunt Max, which just happens to put a damper on Chloe's romantic plans...
1. Romantic Ruinings

_Author's Note: Greetings fellow readers and writers! Welcome to my second fanfiction and my first Life is Strange story. Yes, I know it's short, but hey, who cares about plot? Now, this story takes place after episode five and just assumes that everything turns out peachy. For the most part. Anyway,hope you enjoy and if you feel so inclined, please drop a review. A civil review, of course. Enjoy!_

The wind howled as the sky turned an ashen grey. Torrents of rain smashed against the ground in a never-ending flood. Debris of all kind tore across Max's vision as lighting forked through the clouds, striking the ground with a flurry of sparks. Max opened her mouth to shout, uncaring that the wind smothered her voice. "Chloe!" She took a step towards the edge of the cliff, bracing herself against the razor-like droplets. The town looked as if it were being upwrenched by a giant. The ocean crashed against the harbor, swallowing boats whole. Max turned her horrified gaze to the open sea as a monstrous amalgamation of darkness swirled and twisted above the water. Panic began to wrap itself around Max's mind. _I can't just fucking stand here! I have to do something!_ She instinctively raised her right hand and focused on doing the only thing she could think of. An ear splitting ringing threw Max down on her hands and knees. Blood trickled from her nose and dripped onto the ground, mixing with the rain, turning the water a dark crimson. She could feel tears making their way down her cheeks as she cried out in pain. She clutched the sides of her head and once more looked out to the town, watching helplessly as it was swallowed up by the storm. "Chloe! No!" Max's eyes shot open to find a bedroom flooded with sunlight instead of rain. Her breathing was heavy and tears stung her eyes. Max looked down and realized she had the blankets and sheets in a death grip, her knuckles white. She let out a choked sigh and brought a hand up to dry her tears. Her free hand shot to the right side of the bed, only to grasp at empty air. Chloe was not in her usual spot. Most mornings, the blue-haired punk was either sprawled across the bed or wrapped around Max. But not this morning. Max bolted upright and quickly scanned the room. Her girlfriend was nowhere to be found. "Chloe?" Max called, her voice cracking with sobs. The door to the bedroom was suddenly pushed open and in walked the room's main occupant, carrying what appeared to be a tray with assorted breakfast items on it.

"Oohh, Max, wakey wakey," Chloe began in a sing-song voice. The rest of her words caught in her throat as she took in the expression on the brunette's face. Chloe was at Max's side before the tray she was carrying had clattered to the floor. "Max?! What's wrong?" She pulled Max close to her and brought her hand up and down her back soothingly. Max, now sobbing violently, burrowed her face into Chloe's shoulder. "It's okay, Max. It's okay. I'm right here," Chloe cooed gently, continuing her ministrations. After what felt like an eternity, but in fact had merely been several minutes, Max pulled back. She wiped away the remnants of her tears and sniffled a few times before finally speaking.

"Oh, Chloe! I'm so glad you're here! I- I had a nightmare and," Max paused, the memory of the fear she had felt resurfacing and threatening to reduce her to a sobbing mess yet again. But she swallowed hard, and continued her explanation. "And when I woke up, you weren't here and I started to panic," she finished, concern pooling in her girlfriend's bright, blue eyes. Max noticed this and reached down, grasping Chloe's hand in her own. "I'm sorry if I scared you, Che. But I'm okay now that you're here." Chloe blushed and looked down, running her thumb over Max's fingers.

"God, Max..." the bluenette breathed, a tiny, shy smile pulling at her lips. "You're such a cheesy geek."

"I'm your cheesy geek."

"Not gonna argue with that." Chloe leaned forward and kissed her gently. Max scooted forward, looking to close what distance remained between them, deepening the kiss as she did so. Her hand made it's way around the taller girl's neck, attempting to pull her impossibly closer. "Damn...Max..." Chloe said in between breaths. "Sorry I dropped your breakfast, by the way," she added once they had pulled apart.

"You made me breakfast?" Max asked, failing to stifle a giggle. The thought of the punk-rock girl shuffling around in the kitchen with an apron made her smile widen tenfold.

Chloe looked away again, slightly embarrassed. "I did. And it was going to be super fucking romantic. But then you had to go and get all hysterical on me and that kinda took priority." Max swatted her shoulder playfully before giving her a quick kiss.

"Well, I appreciate the effort nonetheless. It's the thought that counts, after all." She stood up from the bed and crouched down in front of the mess of plates, slightly burnt toast, and eggs.

"Do you think we can salvage it? Or maybe the better question is, do we want to salvage it?"

Chloe clicked her tongue in thought. "Don't know. It's been way over three seconds. And hey! That shit took me hours to make."

"Really, Che? Hours?" Max held up a rather crispy piece of toast, giving Chloe her most sarcastic of expressions.

Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled off her beanie, tossing it at Max's face. "Shut up, nerd. C'mon, get dressed. Or take a shower. Or whatever. Just get ready. We'll go to Two Whales and get our eats on there."


	2. Again

_AN: What up, peeps? Here it is, chapter two! Hooray! Let the applause commence. Anyway, I originally wanted to wrap up the story in two chapters, but clearly that shit isn't gonna happen. So, with that said, be on the lookout for chapter three. Now, please enjoy._

"Yo, Maxaroni! You in there?" Snapping fingers in front of her eyes pulled Max from her thoughts. She blinked, remembering where she was and looked at Chloe. "You okay, babe? You kinda spaced out there."

"I'm fine, Che. Just...thinking, I guess," Max responded, her eyes drifting down to watch the steam rise from her mug. Chloe eyed her for a moment. Somehow, the bluenette always knew when something was bothering her Max. It was almost as if she had a sixth sense.

"Is it about that nightmare you had this morning?" she asked in a soft and mildly concerned voice. Max gave her a hesitant nod before taking a sip of her coffee. "Wanna talk about it?"

Max took a deep breath. She'd never really explained to Chloe what it was exactly that had her in such distress. She'd had the nightmare several times before, but only when she slept alone, which wasn't very often these days. "It was about the storm. Again."

"Again?" Chloe's eyes widened with worry and her mouth turned down in annoyance. "Wait, wait, wait- You've had this dream before? And you're just NOW telling me?"

"Calm down, Chloe," Max said, placing her hand on top of the punk's. "It's not that bad." Chloe leaned back in her seat, the leather from her jacket and the booth the pair were sitting in creating a squeaking sound.

"First of all: I can tell when you're lying. Second of all: I will not calm down! Why didn't you tell me about this, Max?" Chloe pulled her hand away from the brunette and crossed her arms. Her piercing blue gaze made Max squirm in her seat as she searched for an explanation.

"I don't know," she confessed, rubbing at the back of her neck. "I didn't want to worry you, I guess." Chloe sighed, placing her hand back on top of Max's.

"Clearly that worked out well. Look Max, you don't have to keep things from me. I want to know what's going on with you." Chloe reached across the table and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Max's face. Although the gesture was a small and quite common one, it never failed to bring a smile to the photographer's face. "Now tell me about this dream."

"It was like those visions I used to get." Max quickly elaborated when she saw Chloe's eyes go wide in fear. "Don't freak out, Che. These were definitely just dreams. Trust me, I would know if they weren't." Once satisfied that Chloe was not going to freak out she continued. "I was standing near the lighthouse, like usual, and there was a huge storm or tornado, or hurricane, or something coming to destroy the town." Max paused to take a sip of her drink. "I don't know why, but I tried to rewind for some reason. It was the only thing I could think to do at the moment. But when I lifted up my hand, it didn't work and instead I just fell on the ground with a nose bleed. The dream always ends with the town getting destroyed and me calling out your name." Max took a deep breath, refilling the air in her lungs and waited for Chloe's reaction.

Chloe let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, tapping her fingers on the table before she finally spoke. "I'm not sure what to make of that. Could be just a dream...or maybe it means something, I don't know. Just more weird shit in Arcadia Bay." She paused, looking out the window and then back to Max. "You said you've had this dream before, right?" Max nodded.

"Yeah, but only when I sleep by myself. It's like my mind is more at peace when I'm around you." This last part came out a bit quieter than she intended, leaving her face a light shade of red. Chloe's cheeks took on a small blush, as well.

"You really know how to make a girl feel special, Max." Chloe said, a hint of seriousness behind the overall sarcastic comment.

"You are special, Che. You're one of a kind." Chloe's blush exploded across the rest of her face as Max lightly kissed the back of the blue-haired girl's hand. Chloe cleared her throat a couple times in an attempt to regain her composure.

"C'mon, nerd. I'll drive you to school," Chloe said once the crimson glow had faded from her cheeks.

"Oh, joy. We'll get there just in time for my math class." Max placed a few dollars on the table and followed Chloe out into the parking lot.

 _AN: I do accept prompt ideas, so if you've any Life is Strange prompts, please send them my way._


	3. Tea Time

AN: _I apologize tremendously for not uploading this sooner. I am just an iincredibly lazy person. And school has taken a bit of my time as well. But I digress. Here it is, chapter 3! Just as short as the last two! Huzzah! Now, this chapter was mostly used to sorta kinda explain what Max and Chloe have been up to. Not it great detail, but just enough to give you an idea of where they're headed. Also, I have some things I would like to say, but I'll save that for the note at the bottom of the story. As always, I hope you enjoy._

Max stared blankly at her homework, growing more and more frustrated by the second. She had saved all of Arcadia Bay from certain and total destruction, but couldn't decipher the most basic of equations. She let out a groan, her head falling onto her desk in defeat. A sudden knock at her door made Max jump, causing her to slam her knee into the underside of her desk. "Agh, son of a bitch!" She bit her lip hard and rubbed at her bruised knee before limping a bit unsteadly towards the door and opening it. "Oh, hi Kate," Max said, opening the door wider to allow the blonde girl in.

"Are you okay? I heard you shout," Kate asked, seating herself on Max's couch.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just hit my knee," Max replied, taking a seat on her bed opposite Kate. "So what's up?"

"I was just wondering if we were still on for tea today. But I guess you're kinda busy." Kate looked towards the mountain of homework stacked carelessly on the brunette's desk.

"Yeah, I probably should get all that done," Max said. "But it will have to wait until after our tea date." A smile broke across Kate's face as Max grabbed her hoodie and opened the door, gesturing for Kate to leave first.

"I almost thought you'd cancel on me," Kate commented as the pair made their way through the dorm hallway. "I wouldn't have blamed you if you did, though. You look like you've got a lot on your plate."

"It's not as bad as it looks. Don't feel guilty about dragging me away from it. I needed a break," Max said with an overly-exaggerated sigh of exhaustion. Kate laughed softly as the two girls exited the dormitories and began walking towards the front of the school. They boarded the bus heading into town, getting off on the first stop. Kate had found a small but popular little tea shop not too far from the school. Seeing this as it was, Max had decided to schedule tea outings as a regular thing now that they had one within reasonable distance.

The bell on the door chirpped loudly as the girls entered the shop. Max had only been here with Kate twice but yet she already counted it among her favorite places in Arcadia Bay. Number one of course being the light house where she and Chloe had shared their first real kiss. They each picked their favorite tea and settled themselves in a pair of lounge chairs that only made the place feel more relaxing. "So Kate, how are things? I hear Victoria's practically your personal bodyguard now." Max recalled how Victoria beat the living daylights out of Logan for making a rather obscene remark about Kate the day she got out of the hospital.

"She's so sweet. You know, if you forget about everything she did not too long ago," Kate added, her expression somewhat downcast before brightening again. "But it has been nice, I suppose. The way she always asks me if I need anything or if I'm okay." Max swore she heard Kate add something about it being cute before she took a sip of her tea. "How are you, Max? How's Chloe?" Max was surprised to hear Kate of all people ask her about her relationship with the punk. Not that Kate had shown any objection, but still Max didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"We're both doing fine. I managed to talk Chloe into taking online classes and somehow she managed to talk me into getting a tattoo." Kate's eyes widened at this last bit.

"You got a tattoo? Where?" Max pushed up the left sleeve of her hoodie and revealed the two bright-blue butterflies on her underarm. "Wow, Max. You two must really love each other." As it so often did these days, a small blush coated Max's cheeks and she took a long sip of her tea, attempting to hide the lower half of her face.

"We do. We just haven't said it yet."

"Why not tell her tonight? You said you two have been best friends since you were little." Max gave a small nod. She did love Chloe. She loved her more than anything. Without her, Max felt she would be lost. That she would be drifting out at sea with no hope of finding land. And she was more than confident that Chloe felt the same.

"You know what? I think I will. I think she knows already, though. But I feel like I should say it. Thanks, Kate. What would I do without you?"

"In case you forgot, it's me who wouldn't even be here without you. I literally owe you my life, Max." Kate gave her a smile that conveyed a thousand thanks in one gesture. Max placed her hand on Kate's, giving her a modest smile in return.

"So," Max began, her thoughts drifting back to something Kate had said earlier, "you think Victoria's cute?" A deep blush exploded across Kate's face. Her eyes darted all around the shop, never connecting with Max's. She fiddled with the small cross hung around her neck, turning it between her to fingers.

"That..." Kate paused to clear her throat, her voice having come out as a small squeak. "Is none of your business."

AN: _Recently, I hit a THOUSAND VIEWS on this story. I really just want to say thank you SO MUCH. Especially to the people who favorite and drop a review. But really anybody who has taken time out of their day to so much as skim through my story deserves my thanks. You guys are all awesome! You guys are seriously what keeps me writing knowing there are people who actually like my mediocre writing. I hella love all of you! Fist bumps all around!_


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